Moreover, Heaven has been quite merciful—for example, it didn’t take everything away from Charles Bennett. At the very least, he still has a large mansion, which is countless times better than the tiny apartment of just a few dozen square meters he had mortgaged in his previous life. What’s more, the land beneath the house belongs entirely to him, so there’s no need to worry about any nonsense like a seventy-year property limit.

　　Compared to his previous life, where he was all alone, Heaven also left Charles Bennett with a few family members. For instance, Mrs. Walker, though honest and a bit dull, cares deeply for him—she practically treats him as her own son. There are also two adorable younger sisters: one is a four-year-old little girl, the other a thirteen-year-old, and both love to cling to their big brother.

　　Thinking back to his previous life, Charles Bennett also lost his parents in a car accident when he was fifteen. From that moment on, he never again felt the warmth of family. Now, not only has Heaven given him a chance to be reborn, but also a family that, though imperfect, is still very warm. All of this makes Charles Bennett feel deeply content.

　　Charles Bennett quickly walked through several courtyards ahead. Other than the biting cold wind, there was no sound at all—the servants had long since been dismissed by him, making the entire mansion suddenly devoid of life. If it were nighttime, anyone timid would hardly dare to stay here.

　　However, just as Charles Bennett reached a small courtyard in the inner residence—the one where Mrs. Taylor lived—he suddenly heard the sound of sobbing coming from the main hall of the courtyard.

Chapter Two: Deep in Debt

　　When Charles Bennett heard the crying in the courtyard, especially since it was the voices of his two younger sisters, he was startled. He hurried into the small courtyard and pushed open the main hall door, only to find that inside were just Mrs. Walker, Grace, and Lily, the three of them huddled together and weeping bitterly. As for Mrs. Taylor and the two Mrs. Howard, there was no sign of them.

　　“Why are you crying, Auntie? Where are Mrs. Taylor and the others?” Charles Bennett asked in surprise. He had thought that, like a few days ago, some local thugs had seen the Zhou family’s decline and tried to take advantage of the aunts, only to be beaten up and driven off by Charles Bennett. He hadn’t expected to find this situation upon entering.

　　The weeping Mrs. Walker saw Charles Bennett come in and immediately seemed to find her pillar of support. She rushed over, grabbed his sleeve, and sobbed, “Chong’er, Mrs. Taylor and Mrs. Howard, the three of them, took their private savings and ran away. Mrs. Taylor even abandoned Lily. What… what are we going to do?”

　　“Oh, if they ran, they ran. Lily, come to your big brother!” Unexpectedly, Charles Bennett didn’t seem surprised at all by this news. Instead, he calmly walked over, picked up the tearful Lily, and gently comforted her.

　　In fact, ever since news came that Charles Bennett’s father had been lost at sea, he had already anticipated this. Mrs. Taylor and the two Mrs. Howard were not like Mrs. Walker—they were still young and fairly attractive, and as concubines, they had no reason to stay and wait for the Zhou family’s demise. Charles Bennett had also noticed them secretly selling off valuables and packing up to leave the Zhou residence. The reason he suggested the aunts sell their gold and silver jewelry was actually to force those three to leave sooner.

　　Sure enough, as soon as Charles Bennett asked them to hand over their private savings to get through the hard times, the three heartless women immediately took the money and fled. Especially the always shrewd Mrs. Taylor, who was even cruel enough to abandon her own daughter. Poor Lily, only four years old, now has neither father nor mother. This made Charles Bennett feel even more pity and responsibility for the sobbing Lily in his arms.

　　But children are children, especially four-year-old Lily. She probably didn’t fully understand what her mother’s departure meant for her. So after crying herself tired, and with Grace coming over to comfort her, the little girl soon stopped crying and went off to play with her sister.

　　“Auntie, bring me the family account book. Let me see how much debt we still owe,” Charles Bennett said with a smile. Most of the family’s debts had already been paid off; only a small amount remained. But since it was now winter and people needed money for the New Year, the creditors were pressing more urgently.

　　“Alright!” Mrs. Walker replied, wiping her tears, and turned to fetch the account book.

　　Mrs. Walker was just over thirty this year. She had originally been a maid in the household. After Charles Bennett’s mother died when he was young, Mrs. Walker was the one who took care of him. Later, she became Charles Bennett’s father’s concubine and gave birth to Grace. Mrs. Walker wasn’t particularly beautiful, but her skin was very fair—fairness covers three flaws, as the saying goes—and since she had lived a worry-free life before, she looked younger than her actual age. However, the recent death of Charles Bennett’s father and the family’s debts had made this young woman deeply anxious, and in just a few days, she seemed to have aged a lot.

　　Charles Bennett opened the account book and saw that there were only three debts left, and none of them were very large: two for two hundred taels each, and one for two hundred and fifty taels, totaling six hundred and fifty taels.